Ethical Virus

Ethical fashion

On 24 April when the Rana Plaza factory complex on the outskirts of Dhaka fell down like a house of cards killing 1,127 workers, the fashion myth that we can have whatever we want, at speed, in bulk and at unprecedentedly "affordable" prices collapsed too.

In case you have been on the moon, it's worth a recap on the consumer style phenomenon known as fast fashion. A business model that threw out the fashion industry bible, it turned six-month lead times into days and got us hooked on 30-50 seasons a year (the quaint autumn/winter and spring/summer showings of fashion weeks are now as culturally relevant as Gregorian plainsong). Allied to globalisation and free-market economics, fast fashion brands and retailers have outsourced production to low-waged economies, predominantly in Asia.

Fast fashion created its own set of moguls from Sir Philip Green of Arcadia to Amancio Ortega of Inditex and it has set a tone. Reformers (and there are thousands of us campaigning for the fashion industry we love to clean up its act) have consistently pointed out the flaws in this business model.

That the bulk of the risk has been shouldered by some of the lowest paid workers in the world has been made plain in the past three weeks. What happened in Dhaka last month was shocking, but also predictable. For the past decade, the world's most famous brands have been flirting with disaster. Every month brings a fresh tragedy to the world's garment districts, usually through a factory fire or collapse. As I contacted brands for this piece, a factory collapsed in Cambodia.

But this week campaigners for garment workers' rights have brokered a significant breakthrough. At the time of going to press 31, brands had signed the Bangladesh Safety Accord. The accord will sound dry to many fashion lovers. It is a contract between brands, retailers and trade unions in Bangladesh. It is a legally binding, five‑year pact that makes independent safety inspections of 1,000 factories and public reporting on them mandatory. It is also the first-ever multibuyer collective agreement. This is a historic moment for the campaign to clean up fashion.

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But what should our next move be as consumers? In my dreams we all turn to those ethical brands that prioritise ethics and sustainability. But the reality of the postbag (even at the Guardian) is rather different. In the wake of this crisis, most concerned readers want to know: which are the ethical shops on the high street? Sam Maher, of Labour Behind the Label, says "Why not reward those companies for making a step? Choose the brand that's signed over the one that has not."

Every brand can direct you to pages of sustainability reports of varying sophistication and glossiness. One expert tells me that you need a degree in ethical sourcing to make informed decisions, and he's not exaggerating by much. Since most of us don't have these credentials, but want to do what we can, I have sought the views of NGOs and industry analysts and, with their input, created the short reports below.

These take their cue from recent actions and responses, and a good report is not a clean bill of health. Nor is it a general sustainability ranking: no marks for biodegradable bags, or displacing landfill waste through a textile recycling scheme. Really what we want to know, right now, is what will prevent another disaster such as Rana Plaza.

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So we're looking for vital signs. These include a promise to sign the new Bangladesh fire and safety agreement, and evidence of willingness to work towards a living wage in countries where legal minimum wages are set too low to ensure a decent standard of living. Also, brands that have buying offices and people on the ground are likely to be more committed. When things go wrong, NGOs look for fast response times in order to help the victims.